Chapter 110 The Riddler (Part Six)

There was a half-empty beer in the office, and it smelled strongly, as if someone had just left.

A swivel leather chair, the backrest is gone, springs emerge from underneath, the leather surface bulges up, like a cotton quilt stuffed with cotton.

The bowling-like fitness equipment is very, very old; it seems the office owner still enjoys warming up.

But there are only two things that are truly eye-catching: a picture frame and a machine for making silicone masks.

Let's start with the picture frame. It hangs on the wall, making one feel drowsy. The person in the picture frame is particularly surprising. He has no collar, his prominent Adam's apple is not covered, and there are brass buttons at the bottom. His eyelashes are curved, and he sits very upright.

Perhaps due to the photography, the people in the photos appear slightly overweight.

Mia and Billis recognized the man in the photograph; he was Irencel, a handsome man.

"Why is there a picture of Irensie in Richie's office? What is their relationship?" Lisa asked Dios.

Dios was busy rummaging through a pile of broken cardboard boxes for recyclable items and didn't have time to listen.

Lisa had no choice but to ask again.

Dios then heard clearly, winked, and said, "A very good relationship."

"friend?"

“Rich didn’t tell you? Irenshere is his best friend.”

When Lisa is surprised, her heart tail curls upwards. This is the most incredible clue she has found in days: Ellen Sher and Richie are actually friends.

What kind of conflict led to someone killing another friend?

Lisa carefully examined the machine that made the silicone masks. Inside the machine were three finished masks, two of which were intact and undamaged, and were radiating a red glow, indicating that they had most likely been made recently.

The third one is bent as if it were stacked, and you can see that it is covered with sand, so it has most likely been used many times.

“They say wearing a face mask causes insane itching,” Billies joked. “I never wear one. My body double provides better cover, so why would I need a face mask?”

This reminded Lisa that Richie was someone who frequently used elemental substitutes, so why was he making a face mask in his room?

With these questions in mind, Lisa carefully examined the three face masks and discovered that the third one was made of a different material than the other two. They were not made from the same machine. The third one was not even silicone. Instead, it was made by brushing a layer of wood glue onto fine clay and then heating it to fix its shape.

This unexpected confusion fueled Lisa's suspicions even more.

She handed the clay mask to Billies and said, "Put it on."

Not only did Billy object, but he also lowered his eyelids: "It looks very, very old, and it has a pungent, fishy smell. Darling, you don't want my face to be covered in pockmarks, do you?"

"You'll have to make a sacrifice for the sake of the investigation."

"Oh! Unless you promise me you won't tell anyone why I have pockmarks!"

Lisa grabbed the face mask, unrolled it, and pulled it onto Billy's ear like she was catching a rabbit.

Billie's face shape is a good match for the clay mask; you can tell what it is even without pinching it tightly.

"captain!"

Lisa wasn't the only one surprised; Mia and Aisha also recognized the captain—he was an Alliance reinforcement who had helped the agents in the Leviathan Ocean.

However, Lisa thought of things more than others. She quickly connected the two words "face mask" and "mask" because Mr. Richie probably didn't know how to write the ancient Chinese word for "silicone face mask" and could only use "mask" instead.

In addition, she thought of what the 'captain' had said to her.

'Be careful to conceal your strength; someone is watching from above.'

Combined with Richie's last hint in the snowy mountains, Lisa now understands that the "captain" was referring to the high seat when he said "heaven".

Since the 'captain' is a person who possesses both nautical knowledge and exceptional abilities, his image immediately overlaps with that of an omnipotent, multifaceted agent.

The 'captain' might be a fake identity for Irencel, so why would he help the agents?

Since the Leviathan incident, a series of strange things have happened within the alliance. As the head of the intelligence department, Richie was certainly involved. He once said that if he was worried about high-ranking officials, he should go to Irenshere if he had any problems.

Everything seemed to be coming to light, yet it also seemed to be hiding an even more astonishing secret.

Richie, Irenshere, the Captain, the Riddler, and the High Seat—these five characters are both connected and suggestive of conflict.

But the clues are far from enough. The riddle note seems to have ended here. Is there no next hint?

At that moment, Dios, carrying the so-called recycled items he had found, stepped on an illustrated weekly magazine, and this step gave Lisa another inspiration.

Weekly magazines are not common in other worlds to begin with. The cover of that magazine featured a slender woman, and the subheadings were full of vulgar content that flirted with women.

Lisa picked it up and found a page with an illustration of a woman inside, on which a few lines of text were written, right in the blank space of her thigh.

'I like her, even though it hasn't been discovered. But in this one thing alone, I hope she will find out. In the dim twilight, on the deserted streets, there are hundreds of people like her. I carefully keep my distance, because I know that this is the only thing I'm truly devoted to; I only love her.'

It seems Richie has someone he likes. Could finding her be a clue?

Lisa thought for a while, but quickly gave up. Judging from the tone of the handwritten note, Richie must have a crush on her, so she couldn't involve unsuspecting people in dangerous situations.

Turning a few more pages reveals similar fragmented thoughts, which, at a glance, are equally irrelevant to the case.

But if you look closer, you'll find out what kind of person Richie was on Earth.

'I used to live with my sister in the countryside. On the left side of the road, above the canal, sparse lights flickered in the distance. The night wind rustled the hedges. I thought that once I had money, I would tell my sister to quit that job; it wasn't as great as she thought.'

'I won a lottery ticket, but unfortunately I quickly spent the money on other lotteries. You didn't have to work so hard, brother. You have your own plans.'

"By the way, something funny happened to me the other day. A boxer, while fighting a novice, broke his knuckles so badly they wouldn't close, causing indescribable pain. This made me think I could become a secret agent like you."

He needs to be taught a lesson.

"Your boss says I have a real talent for this, haha, I just happen to fall less often in training, but I understand that if I actually fall in action, it means death."

'Little sister, I'm starting to love this line of work, just like you.'

'I passed the previous tests, why can't I pass this one?'

'I heard you won some award, is it in combat sports? Women are best advised to stay away from dangerous professions.'

'Now I understand why he started running; if he couldn't get there quickly, the operation would fail.'

'Hehe, I've really fallen in love with this line of work, sis!'

Flipping through a few more pages, I found it covered in scribbles and corrections, the words seemingly locked in a fierce battle of wits.

'The holy light, like a grand festival firework, pierced the darkness and led me to a blissful otherworld. Sister, where are you?'

'A deadly torment awakens from its slumber. What's wrong with your body? If you're not feeling well, there's no need to continue this line of work. We can go back to living like we did on Earth.'

'Who made this fatal mistake?'

'I will avenge you, until your heart stops.'

'She and her sister look alike; from the side, they really do.'

The punctuation marks that followed left on tiptoe, respectfully lining up in a long queue. That's how Richie casually left his experiences in a third-rate publication. Although they were scattered, chaotic, and disordered things, they were still very necessary memories when put together.

It implies that Richie joined the secret service because of his sister, who is also an excellent agent.

Lisa asked Dios, "Did you know that Richie has a younger sister?"

"It's harder than climbing to heaven to uncover a family secret from an intelligence agent, and besides, he and I are just colleagues."

Has he ever given you a gift?

"You mean, small gifts? Hmm, let me think. The things he gives me are usually kept in the storage area on the first floor. I haven't been there in a long time."

Lisa urged Dios to take them to the storage area.

The smallest metal drawer at the bottom of the storage area belongs to Dios. It hasn't been opened in a long time, so it's crammed full of things.

There was a magazine inside, just like that third-rate publication, with a blonde woman on the cover, her cheeks tanned dark, and her body smooth and golden olive-colored.

Open the magazine, and a piece of paper falls out from the very center.

The note read: "Whoever you are, you've come this far, you've earned the complete trust of me and my friends, so let's be frank. What you're looking for might need to be taken away from the murderer for a while."

Go find a tree. Look down, it's round; look up, it's square.